A Paler Shade of Jealousy
by pyro-pixiechik
Summary: The Winter Ball is coming up and Darres askes Ishtar to go with him. Duzel hides his jealousy until an incident happens at the ball which leaves Ishtar torn to pieces. With no one else to turn to, she runs into the arms of the Vampire King.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Game in any way.

Hey there, people. Yeah, I know I promised a sequel to "Whatever It Takes." But I just got done with this one and I thought I'd post it up first. Please don't hate me for this!!! Anyways, as usual, this is a Duzel/Ishtar pairing.

Will You Go With Me?

Ishtar was sitting at the dining room table, enjoying breakfast when Sir Keld strode into the room. She kept on eating and pretended not to notice him until he cleared his throat loudly, which made her glance up at him.

"Your Highness, as you know, the Winter Ball is coming up this weekend. It is only three days away. I know you think this ball is only a social gathering, but I think it a wonderful opportunity for you to meet a consort," said Keld.

"Consort? What are you talking about?" said Ishtar with her mouth full. She swallowed.

"Almost all of your male cousins will be attending, and I am sure that one of them will make the perfect husband for you. All of them are perfect suitors for you, so-" Here, Ishtar interrupted.

"Whoa! Hold up! Since when did you decide I was getting married? I'm only fifteen, if you haven't forgotten," she said.

"Of course I haven't forgotten. And I was only pointing out that this is the perfect chance for you to meet someone," said Keld, exasperated.

"Whatever. Just as long as you're not forcing me into anything," said Ishtar, taking a sip of juice.

"Well, now that that's settled, let's talk about your schedule. I've cancelled your lessons for the next three days. Your time will be spent trying on the dresses and gowns that I had the seamstress specially make for you," continued Keld.

"Uh-huh," said Ishtar in a bored voice.

Sir Keld left the room. Ishtar turned back to her plate of food when she noticed Darres staring at her.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Huh...nothing," said Darres quickly.

Ishtar gave him a look.

"Okay, okay. I was wondering if you'd like to go with me," he said, a little nervously.

"Go with you where?" asked Ishtar.

"Um...to the...to the..." he trailed off.

"If you're talking 'bout the ball (chewing), I'm already going. (swallow) Didn't you hear the old man?" said Ishtar.

"Yeah I heard him, I just thought..." Darres mumbled

"Well, I guess I'd need an escort, but c'mon. You always escort me to these things," said Ishtar.

"No, not as an escort, Lady Ishtar," said Darres, his voice getting small.

"Then, what? You can't possibly be asking me out. Though, it would be nice to have a date. Then maybe not so many guys would hit on me. It gets annoying," said Ishtar.

"Actually, that's exactly what I wanted to ask you," said Darres, his voice now barely audible.

"Oh. Okay, if you want. But just to let you know, I totally can't imagine you getting all dressed up nicely," said Ishtar, getting up from the table carrying Duzel.

**In Ishtar's Room**

"Oh, Duzie, did you hear? He asked me to go to the ball with him! And all this time, I thought he hated me. Do you think he's sick or something? Oh, who cares? He asked me to go with him and that's all that matters," Ishtar gushed happily.

Duzel, who was on the bed, leapt off and transformed. His long silver hair swept over his shoulders. He looked at Ishtar with his red eyes.

"Ishtar, he could be asking you on Keld's orders," he said.

"Nah, I don't think so. If he was, the old man would've mentioned it at the table. Plus, didn't you see how nervous he looked? It was adorable!," said Ishtar, laughing. "Oh, man, this is so great."

She turned to look at Duzel but he seemed lost in thought. When he noticed her staring at him, he snapped back into reality.

"Oh...yeah, it's...it's great. You still love him, right?" he said.

"Yeah, I do," said Ishtar.

Duzel didn't say anything. He had just felt a burning inside him, much like jealousy. But why should he be jealous? He knew the princess loved her bodyguard. Still, his insides seemed to twist with jealousy at the thought of them together.

There was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Ishtar said.

"Your dresses, M'Lady. We are to assist you for the fittings," said one of the maids.

Okay, just a sec!" said Ishtar.

Duzel changed back into a kyawl just as the door opened.

Okay, this seems like a good place to leave off. I'll have more chapters up soon. And I will post the sequel to "Whatever It Takes." I promise!


	2. A Simple Lesson

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Game.

Hey guys, welcome back to chapter two. Glad you liked it so far. This is only the second chapter, but it starts getting good here.

A Simple Lesson

Ishtar flopped, facedown, on her bed, exhausted. She had tried on so many dresses today that she had lost track of time. White ones, pink ones, purple ones, blue ones, red ones, green ones, gold ones, silver ones, short ones, long ones, poufy ones, slinky ones, fringy ones, strapless ones, ones with slits up the sides, ones with puffed up sleeves...it was too much. Who knew trying on dresses could be so tiring? And tomorrow, she had to try on shoes in addition to even more dresses.

She glanced at Duzel, who had just leapt onto the bed.

"Hey Duzie. Man, today's just been hectic. Why do I even need to try on all those dresses anyway? I've got plenty," she said lazily.

Duzel looked at her before transforming.

"The old man probably wants you to look your best. I mean, this is a pretty big party from what I heard all day," he said.

"Yeah, but still. It's ridiculous," she said with a lazy shrug.

"You know, Ishtar, if Darres is going as your date, he might expect you to dance with him," said Duzel.

Ishtar, who was yawning, closed her mouth in surprise.

"You could be right, Duzie. I've never really danced with anyone before, and I don't wanna look like an idiot," said Ishtar.

"Maybe you can try practicing," Duzel suggested.

"Do you have any idea how stupid that would sound? 'Oh, hey, Darres, I was wondering, do you wanna practice dancing with me so we won't make fools out of ourselves at the party?' He'd probably laugh himself stupid and change his mind about going with me," said Ishtar, rolling her eyes. "Well, okay, maybe not. He's not that shallow. It's just..."

Here, Ishtar trailed off. She looked at Duzel with the same expression, Duzel recognized with an ominous feeling, she wore every time she came up with one of her "plans." He sighed, getting ready for what he knew was coming. Or, what he _thought _was coming.

"You know what? I don't need to practice with him, when I can practice with you instead," she said.

"Wha-what?! Why would you want to practice with me? I can't dance!" said Duzel, his face feeling hot.

"That's perfect! I seriously doubt that Darres can dance either, so what's the problem?" she asked.

Before Duzel could object, Ishtar had already taken his hand and dragged him to the center of her room, his cape swishing behind him.

"Ishtar, I don't think-!"

"Oh, c'mon, it won't be too bad. You never know, you might like it," said Ishtar, grinning.

The next thing Duzel knew, his left hand was on Ishtar's waist while her left hand was on his shoulder. Their right hands joined up and rose.

"Okay, so this is how it goes..."

Ishtar began guiding an awkward Duzel across the carpet of her room. They went slowly at first, but pretty soon, they were waltzing with ease.

"We did it, Duzie! I knew this was easy!" Ishtar said happily, as she was doing a spin.

Duzel didn't say anything. Ishtar wondered what was wrong, until she realized that she had spun right into his arms. Slowly, as if controlled by something, she lifted her head and looked at him. His red eyes seemed to draw her in as their eyes locked.

Ishtar's heart began to pound. Duzel's face seemed to draw nearer. Or was it her face that was drawing closer to him? It felt like time was standing still. And then, Ishtar came back into focus.

"Um...I think that's enough practice. Let's call it a night, Duzie, I'm still beat from trying on all those dresses. I've got another long day tomorrow, so I'm going to sleep. Nighty night!" she said quickly, getting on the bed and pulling up the covers.

But Ishtar did not go to sleep. She laid awake, with her back turned to Duzel, feeling uneasy.

_What's happening? _ she thought. _Why'd I freeze up there just now? I can't be falling in love with Duzie, can I? Oh, whatever. I'm too tired to figure this out. I'll worry about it tomorrow. _

And Ishtar closed her eyes, unaware that Duzel was still in his true form, watching her.


	3. Please Hold Me

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Game. Wish Duzie was mine though...

Hey people. After battling computer problems and school, I've finally updated. I'm deciding to skip to the day of the ball(but not the actual ball itself), because the shoe-fitting chapter was boring after I read over it. But don't worry, this is gonna make up for it, I hope.

Please Hold Me

The castle woke up to a cloudy day on the day of the ball. Ishtar seemed uncharacteristically moody for some reason. Sure, the past two days had been hectic, what with all the dress and shoe fittings that she had to deal with. Sure, she didn't want any of the dresses because they were too tight. Sure, she made it clear that she didn't want to attend the ball. But that still didn't explain why she was so moody. The maids practically had to drag her out of bed, and she was snappy at the breakfast table. And after breakfast, she retreated to her room with Duzell and did not come out for most of the day.

"What is wrong with Lady Ishtar? Is she ill? We may have to cancel the ball if she is," said Keld with some concern.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Her Highness always gets like this every time a ball comes around," said Yujinn. "Isn't that right, Darres?"

"Hmmm? Oh...yeah, I wouldn't worry about a thing. Besides, it's better than what we usually have to put up with," he said.

"I suppose. She is being rather quiet today. It makes a nice change," said Keld. "Very well. Darres, you may return to your duties."

Darres nodded and left the room. Deep down, he was worried about the Princess. What if she really was sick? Or worse, what if she had changed her mind about going to the ball with him? He sighed as he approached the Princess's room, where Jill and Krai were dozing off.

**In Ishtar's Room**

Ishtar was sitting on the windowsill, staring up at the cloudy sky. She knew she wasn't her usual self, but she couldn't help it. Something was stirring in her, making her uneasy. No, more than uneasy. She didn't know if it was nervousness or fear. Something was telling her not to go to the ball, because something was going to happen at the ball that night. She couldn't explain it, but somehow she felt it. Something will happen and someone will get hurt because of it. _She _will get hurt because of it.

Duzell was worried about the Princess too, and so he transformed.

"Ishtar, are you alright? You're not yourself today. You barely ate anything this morning. Is something wrong?" he said.

It was a while before the princess said anything.

"Clouds...the whole sky is covered with them. I wonder if it'll rain tonight during the ball," she said vaguely. "The ball...I don't know if I want to go anymore."

Duzell was a little surprised at those words. He knew Ishtar didn't want to go in the first place, but he had thought that she was happy because Darres had asked to go with her.

"What is it Ishtar? If something's wrong, you know you can tell me, right?" said Duzell.

Ishtar turned to look at Duzell and smiled vaguely.

"Thanks Duzie, but I don't know how to explain it. I feel something in me. There's a voice telling me that I shouldn't go to the ball, because something bad's gonna happen. I have the feeling that...someone's gonna get hurt if I go. And I don't want it to happen," she said.

She had almost said "me" but she stopped herself in time. She did not want Duzell to worry more about her than he already was.

"Hey...don't worry okay? Nothing bad will happen. You have Darres to protect you," he said, another flash of jealousy sweeping over him as he said it.

Then, he felt arms wrap around his waist and he froze up. What the...? Ishtar was hugging him. And when he looked down at her, he saw that her eyes were sparkling with tears.

"Thanks Duzell. It's funny isn't it? How I can trust you this much, I mean. I've always trusted you, but this...this feels different. Isn't it funny?" she said.

"No," said Duzell. "I know exactly what you mean."

"Duzell? I know something's gonna happen tonight, I can feel it. I'm a little scared. Please, hold me," she said.

"Alright."

There was a soft knocking on the door, and Ishtar pulled away.

"Yeah?" she shouted.

"Milady, your cousin, Lady Falan is due to arrive in less than one hour," said one of the maids. Ishtar heard footsteps walking away.

"Falan? Really? Ohmigosh, I gotta go change. I haven't seen her in, like, forever," said Ishtar. "Quick, Duzie! Help me pick out a dress! I wanna look cute for the ball. C'mon, c'mon! It's less than three hours!"

Duzell stared at Ishtar in slight disbelief. _What happened?_ he thought. _She was just crying a minute ago._ Obviously, Ishtar had completely forgotten about her uneasiness. Right now, she had her head inside her large wardrobe and was busily tossing out the special-made dresses. In no time, there was quite a pile of dresses that actually blocked the bed from view. Then came the shoes. Duzell had to dodge several of them as Ishtar emptied out her wardrobe.

There was another knock on the door.

"Yeah?" Ishtar yelled.

"Ish! It's me, Falan. Can I come in? This dress is killing me."

"Just a sec!" said Ishtar.

Duzell turned back into a kyawl as Ishtar opened the door.

"Hey, Falan! Haven't seen you in months! How's it going?" she said, letting her cousin in. "Wow, I love your dress!"

"Heh, thanks. But I can barely breathe in this thing, it's way too tight," said Falan with a small laugh. "But, whoa, look at all your dresses. Which one are you gonna wear?"

"I don't know. Wanna help me choose?" said Ishtar.

"Sure, I'd love to!" said Falan happily.

"By the way, where's Vord?" Ishtar asked.

"I think I saw him headed for the wine cellar," said Falan.

"Gee, why am I not surprised?" said Ishtar.

The two girls started looking through the dresses.

"Ishtar? Illsaide is here too," said Falan, her smile fading.

"Oh. Why?" said Ishtar.

"Well, isn't this ball supposed to be for you to find a suitor? Illsaide is your cousin, too," said Falan.

"Oh, don't worry 'bout a thing! I have no intention of marrying any one of my cousins. Trust me on this," Ishtar assured her.

_Cuz the one I wanna marry is Darres, _she thought.

Okay, I know I went totally outta character in this chapter, but I wanted to try something different. If you don't like it, then I'll gladly change it. Just let me know what you think.


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